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(no subject)
Mar. 19th, 2010 12:09 pmOntario politician wants Toronto to become a province.
"The 'straw that broke the camel's back' is the current spread of 'coyotes' in his parts of the province, he said, a matter locals would like to settle by placing a bounty on them.
'They'll never let you do that in Toronto,' he said, suggesting the only way enough attention could come to the plight of rural Ontarians would be 'to get rid of Toronto. Let them form their own province.'"
Wait, what?
"The 'straw that broke the camel's back' is the current spread of 'coyotes' in his parts of the province, he said, a matter locals would like to settle by placing a bounty on them.
'They'll never let you do that in Toronto,' he said, suggesting the only way enough attention could come to the plight of rural Ontarians would be 'to get rid of Toronto. Let them form their own province.'"
Wait, what?
(no subject)
Feb. 10th, 2010 01:43 pmCSIS won't open full Tommy Douglas file
...because old spy information from the Cold War needs to be be kept oh-so-seekrit for the good of the people. Or, y'know, for the good of CSIS, because that way everyone doesn't learn about how underhanded/reactionary/wasteful with taxpayers' money they were. I'm guessing it's Option B.
...because old spy information from the Cold War needs to be be kept oh-so-seekrit for the good of the people. Or, y'know, for the good of CSIS, because that way everyone doesn't learn about how underhanded/reactionary/wasteful with taxpayers' money they were. I'm guessing it's Option B.
( Obama and Harper: Bookends in a broken democracy )
"Oddly enough the problem is the opposite in each country. In Canada, individual members of Parliament have almost no power and under Harper even Cabinet ministers have little. All power is centralized in the PMO and in the office of the Leaders. Even still, we don't get a direct vote for those leaders, only for their party and that vote is counted by the antiquated first past the post system so a candidate with a minority of votes usually is the winner and the party that wins almost never has a majority. There are few checks and balances in the Canadian system unlike in the US
In the US, individual members of the Congress have a lot of power supposedly to represent their constituents but in actual fact most of them are bought and paid for by the corporate lobbyists through Political Action Committees. The balance of power in the US means the President is limited by the Congress and in the hyper sectarian atmosphere on Capital Hill, the only things Obama can achieve are things the Republicans want.
But despite the differences, in both countries democracy is broken. The only way to fix it, is by engaging citizens in democratic decision making at every level. The demonstrations on Saturday are just the beginning.".
source
"Oddly enough the problem is the opposite in each country. In Canada, individual members of Parliament have almost no power and under Harper even Cabinet ministers have little. All power is centralized in the PMO and in the office of the Leaders. Even still, we don't get a direct vote for those leaders, only for their party and that vote is counted by the antiquated first past the post system so a candidate with a minority of votes usually is the winner and the party that wins almost never has a majority. There are few checks and balances in the Canadian system unlike in the US
In the US, individual members of the Congress have a lot of power supposedly to represent their constituents but in actual fact most of them are bought and paid for by the corporate lobbyists through Political Action Committees. The balance of power in the US means the President is limited by the Congress and in the hyper sectarian atmosphere on Capital Hill, the only things Obama can achieve are things the Republicans want.
But despite the differences, in both countries democracy is broken. The only way to fix it, is by engaging citizens in democratic decision making at every level. The demonstrations on Saturday are just the beginning.".
source
This just in:
"Activists remain on the roof of Parliament's West Block after unfurling a banner which reads "Harper/Ignatieff: Climate inaction costs lives."
Um, hey guys? Just FYI: CLIMBING ONTO THE ROOF OF THE WEST BLOCK could cost lives, too. Like maybe YOURS.
Jeebus.
"Activists remain on the roof of Parliament's West Block after unfurling a banner which reads "Harper/Ignatieff: Climate inaction costs lives."
Um, hey guys? Just FYI: CLIMBING ONTO THE ROOF OF THE WEST BLOCK could cost lives, too. Like maybe YOURS.
Jeebus.
(no subject)
Nov. 14th, 2009 04:48 pmSo. The 9/11 masterminds will get a criminal trial in a civilian court, but former child soldier Omar Khadr is still going to face a military tribunal. Apparently the reason is that certain evidence that would be prohibited in a civilian court (translation: evidence obtained under torture harsh interrogation techniques) will likely be accepted in a military court (surprise, surprise!).
This is all despite the fact that a. Khadr was fifteen years old at the time of his arrest, and b. evidence he might not even be guilty. And if that's not enough, let's add some insult to all this injury. Khad'rs own (minority) government is refusing to extradite him.
WTF, people? Since when are child soldiers treated like this? I thought there was supposed to be a law against that.
I'm completely unsurprised by Stephen Harper's actions, but I didn't expect Barack Obama to go along with Bush-era policies. Not, on, Mr. President. Not on at ALL.
This is all despite the fact that a. Khadr was fifteen years old at the time of his arrest, and b. evidence he might not even be guilty. And if that's not enough, let's add some insult to all this injury. Khad'rs own (minority) government is refusing to extradite him.
WTF, people? Since when are child soldiers treated like this? I thought there was supposed to be a law against that.
I'm completely unsurprised by Stephen Harper's actions, but I didn't expect Barack Obama to go along with Bush-era policies. Not, on, Mr. President. Not on at ALL.
Woah, how could I have missed this?
Sep. 4th, 2009 10:30 amI guess I've heard part of it, but geez. And wow. And YAY!
Apparently The SPP has officially been defeated. I knew it wasn't being called 'SPP' anymore, but I didn't know that the whole plan has actually been tanked. *throws confetti*
Apparently The SPP has officially been defeated. I knew it wasn't being called 'SPP' anymore, but I didn't know that the whole plan has actually been tanked. *throws confetti*
